Can the 2019 Twins set a franchise record?

[stringer bell]

In 2017, the Twins used a record number of pitchers, but had relative stability when it came to position players.They used only 17 in the course of the season. To my knowledge, that number of position players tied their all-time low since 1961, the year the team came to Minnesota.

 

This year, the Twins went north with 14 position players and had one, Miguel Sano, on the Injured List. Tyler Austin is gone and will not return. It is unlikely that the team will go as high as 14 position players the rest of the year. The main reasons I see little position player movement are that the team currently has three truly versatile players who don't figure to be plugged into a single starting position--Marwin Gonzalez, Willians Astudillo, and Ehire Adrianza--so that when a disabling injury occurs, the Twins don't have to recall a minor leaguer to fill that spot. Further, right now, one of two bench options is likely to be sent down--Jake Cave or Astudillo--and that player could shuttle between Rochester and Minnesota when an additional arm is needed or when a disabling injury happens. Also, there is no position player on the horizon that looks like he could force his way to promotion. 

 

The Twins have at least three players who are serviceable defensively at each position, including catcher, so no one injury would compel them to recall a player at a certain position.

 

All of this speculation could change in a few weeks, but for now, I see relatively little change going forward amongst the position players, at least until September. 

[yarnivek1972]

The only position players on the 40 man that aren’t active are Sano, Gordon (who’s hurt), Arraez (who’s likely to be promoted to AAA soon), Torreyes (who’s hitting .100 in AAA) and Wade.